Experience marketing has gained space among the most effective strategies for brands seeking to create real bonds with their audience. More than just a striking event, loyalty requires coherence between what is promised and what is delivered. In a scenario where consumers are increasingly conscious of their actions and demanding with brands, companies must reinvent themselves to maintain relevance.
For Ale Tcholla, partner and creative director of Blood, the agency reference in non-stop experience, a successful experience must reflect the company’s values genuinely. “The consumer perceives when there is truth behind an action, and that’s what makes them trust and engage. The ideal is to provide people with a memorable and unforgettable moment, allowing the audience to leave with a positive and impactful memory of the creativity, delivery, and work they experienced,” he explains.
“The atmosphere on the event day, the location, the needs of the moment, the message to be conveyed, all of this can be used for branding and to reinforce the product’s image, but being able to unite all of this in a genuine and credible way is the great challenge of Live Marketing,” he emphasizes.
Faced with this scenario, the expert listed the five essential steps to win the audience’s loyalty in experience activations:
1. Define and communicate a clear purpose According to Tcholla, every action must start from an objective that represents the real value of the brand to its audience. “Communication should be direct and consistent. The purpose is what sets apart an experience with real impact from merely aesthetic action. When the company is clear about what it represents, everything aligns around that,” he adds.
2. transparent and consistent in all interactions
According to him, the values that advertising campaigns present need to be truly aligned with the reality and actions of the brands. “It is important for these values to reflect what the brand believes in and what it can actually offer to consumers. For a campaign to be effective, it should not only grab attention during an event, but also show that it continues to act in accordance with these principles afterwards. This way, consumers can trust that the company delivers on its promises”, he explains.
3. Explore technological innovations to strengthen the relationshipPerceiving technology as an ally, from the product production process to the communication strategy, is essential to getting closer to the public. “However, the possibility for anyone to pick up their phone and comment on a product, or even seek an answer about a controversial action, makes brands more vulnerable”, highlights the Blood director.
According to Tcholla, technology brings people together and reveals. “Using it consciously, from production to post-event, reinforces the message and creates new ways of engaging with the audience. In this way, it is possible to explore all touchpoints and their specificities to deepen the message, reinforcing positive consumer perception, building loyalty, and potentially turning them into brand advocates”, he states.
4. Plan actions that connect before and after the eventAccording to the executive, the experience does not begin or end at the moment of activation. Continuity is what reinforces the memory and consolidates the bond. “The event is a touchpoint and communication must be planned so that it reinforces a message that has been consolidated across all relevant channels. The idea is to build a relationship before and nurture it afterward, with messages that reinforce the experience and extend engagement,” he points out.
5. Create memorable experiences that generate spontaneous engagementMemorable moments are those that evoke emotion and become shareable by the will of the public, not by imposition. According to Tcholla, in-person events allow for a sensory experience that no other marketing tool that goes through screens allows.
“Knowing how to explore all these senses to reinforce a specific message or positioning is a huge challenge. A memorable experience does not need to be grandiose, but rather meaningful. When a company truly touches the public, they become the brand’s greatest advocates,” he concludes.
